Vinegar and Spice Oven-Baked Ribs

These pork ribs are tender and juicy right out of the oven, at room temperature, or even cold, which makes them perfect picnic food. And you don’t need a fork or knife to eat them, just plenty of napkins.

Game plan: The ribs need to be marinated for at least 12 hours, so plan accordingly.

Watch Christine Gallary of the CHOW Test Kitchen make these easy oven-baked ribs in an episode of our video series The Easiest Way.

Ingredients

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cupcider vinegar

1/4 cup finely grated lemon zest (from about 4 medium lemons)

6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tablespoonskosher salt

2 tablespoonspaprika

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

2 full racksbaby back pork ribs (about 5 to 6 pounds)

Instructions

1Place all the ingredients except the ribs in a medium bowl and whisk to combine; set aside.

2Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the baking sheet bone-side up and evenly coat with half of the marinade. Flip the ribs and evenly coat with the remaining half of the marinade. Cover tightly with more aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

3The next day, heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature while the oven is heating, at least 20 minutes.

4Bake covered for 1 hour. Uncover and continue baking until the ribs are knife tender, about 1 hour more.